This Finnish runner was unquestionably the most talked about athlete of his generation in the 1970s.He won four Olympic titles in all between 1972 and 1976 over 5000 and 10,000 m. When he ran the 10,000 m in Munich he fell but got up and won the race. Having taken his illustrious countryman Paavo Nurmi as a model, Lasse Viren obtained his results following a scientific-like preparation that he explained in a book her wrote entitled "Golden seconds".His methods of preparing, revolutionary at the time, are still a problem today, even though no illegal substances are involved,Lasse Viren used to have samples of his own blood removed a few weeks before the games and re-injected a few days before the races. Studies conducted in the United States showed that this type of doping greatly increases the number of red blood cells in the athletes system, giving him greater aerobic powers and making him less prone to fatigue.Since then Lasse Viren has become the owner of a transport company in Finland.